90 research outputs found
On the efficiency of quantum lithography
Quantum lithography promises, in principle, unlimited feature resolution,
independent of wavelength. However, in the literature at least two different
theoretical descriptions of quantum lithography exist. They differ in to which
extent they predict that the photons retain spatial correlation from generation
to the absorption, and while both predict the same feature size, they differ
vastly in predicting how efficiently a quantum lithographic pattern can be
exposed.
Until recently, essentially all experiments reported have been performed in
such a way that it is difficult to distinguish between the two theoretical
explanations. However, last year an experiment was performed which gives
different outcomes for the two theories. We comment on the experiment and show
that the model that fits the data unfortunately indicates that the trade-off
between resolution and efficiency in quantum lithography is very unfavourable.Comment: 19 pages, extended version including a thorough mathematical
derivatio
On Visibility in the Afshar Two-Slit Experiment
A modified version of Young's experiment by Shahriar Afshar indirectly
reveals the presence of a fully articulated interference pattern prior to the
post-selection of a particle in a "which-slit" basis. While this experiment
does not constitute a violation of Bohr's Complementarity Principle as claimed
by Afshar, both he and many of his critics incorrectly assume that a commonly
used relationship between visibility parameter V and "which-way" parameter K
has crucial relevance to his experiment. It is argued here that this
relationship does not apply to this experimental situation and that it is wrong
to make any use of it in support of claims for or against the bearing of this
experiment on Complementarity.Comment: Final version; to appear in Foundations of Physic
Reply to Comments of Steuernagel on the Afshar's Experiment
We respond to criticism of our paper "Paradox in Wave-Paricle Duality for
Non-Perturbative Measurements". We disagree with Steuernagel's derivation of
the visibility of the Afshar experiment. To calculate the fringe visibility,
Steuernagel utilizes two different experimental situations, i.e. the wire grid
in the pattern minima and in the pattern maxima. In our assessment, this
proceduere cannot lead to the correct result for the complementarity properties
of wave-particle in one particular experimental set-up
Approaching the Heisenberg limit with two mode squeezed states
Two mode squeezed states can be used to achieve Heisenberg limit scaling in
interferometry: a phase shift of can be
resolved. The proposed scheme relies on balanced homodyne detection and can be
implemented with current technology. The most important experimental
imperfections are studied and their impact quantified.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figure
Spectrum of light scattering from an extended atomic wave packet
The spectrum of the light scattered from an extended atomic wave packet is
calculated. For a wave packet consisting of two spatially separated peaks
moving on parallel trajectories, the spectrum contains Ramsey-like fringes that
are sensitive to the phase difference between the two components of the wave
packet. Using this technique, one can establish the mutual coherence of the two
components of the wave packet without recombining them.Comment: 4 page
Equivalence between free quantum particles and those in harmonic potentials and its application to instantaneous changes
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citedIn quantum physics the free particle and the harmonically trapped particle are arguably the most important systems a physicist needs to know about. It is little known that, mathematically, they are one and the same. This knowledge helps us to understand either from the viewpoint of the other. Here we show that all general time-dependent solutions of the free-particle Schrodinger equation can be mapped to solutions of the Schrodinger equation for harmonic potentials, both the trapping oscillator and the inverted `oscillator'. This map is fully invertible and therefore induces an isomorphism between both types of system, they are equivalent. A composition of the map and its inverse allows us to map from one harmonic oscillator to another with a different spring constant and different center position. The map is independent of the state of the system, consisting only of a coordinate transformation and multiplication by a form factor, and can be chosen such that the state is identical in both systems at one point in time. This transition point in time can be chosen freely, the wave function of the particle evolving in time in one system before the transition point can therefore be linked up smoothly with the wave function for the other system and its future evolution after the transition point. Such a cut-and-paste procedure allows us to describe the instantaneous changes of the environment a particle finds itself in. Transitions from free to trapped systems, between harmonic traps of different spring constants or center positions, or, from harmonic binding to repulsive harmonic potentials are straightforwardly modelled. This includes some time dependent harmonic potentials. The mappings introduced here are computationally more efficient than either state-projection or harmonic oscillator propagator techniques conventionally employed when describing instantaneous (non-adiabatic) changes of a quantum particle's environmentPeer reviewe
Afshar's Experiment does not show a Violation of Complementarity
A recent experiment performed by S. Afshar [first reported by M. Chown, New
Scientist {\bf 183}, 30 (2004)] is analyzed. It was claimed that this
experiment could be interpreted as a demonstration of a violation of the
principle of complementarity in quantum mechanics. Instead, it is shown here
that it can be understood in terms of classical wave optics and the standard
interpretation of quantum mechanics. Its performance is quantified and it is
concluded that the experiment is suboptimal in the sense that it does not fully
exhaust the limits imposed by quantum mechanics.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Generalised Hong-Ou-Mandel Experiments with Bosons and Fermions
The Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) dip plays an important role in recent linear optics
experiments. It is crucial for quantum computing with photons and can be used
to characterise the quality of single photon sources and linear optics setups.
In this paper, we consider generalised HOM experiments with bosons or
fermions passing simultaneously through a symmetric Bell multiport beam
splitter. It is shown that for even numbers of bosons, the HOM dip occurs
naturally in the coincidence detection in the output ports. In contrast,
fermions always leave the setup separately exhibiting perfect coincidence
detection. Our results can be used to verify or employ the quantum statistics
of particles experimentally.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, more references adde
Conditional generation of sub-Poissonian light from two-mode squeezed vacuum via balanced homodyne detection on idler mode
A simple scheme for conditional generation of nonclassical light with
sub-Poissonian photon-number statistics is proposed. The method utilizes
entanglement of signal and idler modes in two-mode squeezed vacuum state
generated in optical parametric amplifier. A quadrature component of the idler
mode is measured in balanced homodyne detector and only those experimental runs
where the absolute value of the measured quadrature is higher than certain
threshold are accepted. If the threshold is large enough then the conditional
output state of signal mode exhibits reduction of photon-number fluctuations
below the coherent-state level.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, REVTe
How to determine a quantum state by measurements: The Pauli problem for a particle with arbitrary potential
The problem of reconstructing a pure quantum state ¿¿> from measurable quantities is considered for a particle moving in a one-dimensional potential V(x). Suppose that the position probability distribution ¿¿(x,t)¿2 has been measured at time t, and let it have M nodes. It is shown that after measuring the time evolved distribution at a short-time interval ¿t later, ¿¿(x,t+¿t)¿2, the set of wave functions compatible with these distributions is given by a smooth manifold M in Hilbert space. The manifold M is isomorphic to an M-dimensional torus, TM. Finally, M additional expectation values of appropriately chosen nonlocal operators fix the quantum state uniquely. The method used here is the analog of an approach that has been applied successfully to the corresponding problem for a spin system
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